Old-school hoops rule this court

May 11, 2004|By Phillip Thompson.

I'm about to write about the NBA playoffs.

Muffle your yawns, please.

Focus again when your eyes finish rolling.

I feel you.

Your rational mind tells you that the NBA should be a thrill. Every night some of the most athletic daredevils of any sport laugh at the laws of physics and contort their bodies to pull off the kinds of shots and maneuvers that are hard to conceive, let alone perform.

So why this yearning for Lakers-Celtics when Lakers-Kings has plenty of acrimony? With all of the hustle, muscle and miscreancy lurking within the hearts of Detroit's Bad Boys, why do they seem like a pale shadow of the original Foul Five?

Let's not even speak of Michael Jordan.

The NBA's athletes may be as good or better than many of the old pros (OK, with Jordan, Magic and Bird, let's not get crazy), but the teams aren't better.

Look at the NBA today. Teams take turns blowing each other out. They set record lows for points. And before uttering a word about defense, look at the shooting percentages in the playoffs for some teams. Back in the '70s and '80s, the top teams traded blows, toppled each other from the mountain on occasion, but they were always hotly contested.

But you might argue that there were fewer teams back in the day when leagues weren't burdened by overexpansion. And some of those squads fielded front lines with Hall of Fame-caliber talent.

I hear you.

That's all the more reason the Lakers should be plowing through playoff opponents. The Lakers have their most talent since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Jamaal Wilkes, Magic Johnson and Michael Cooper filled the rosters.

Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Gary Payton and Karl Malone are all most likely destined to be Hall-of-Famers. Derek Fisher and Rick Fox have been solid Laker contributors for years in the mold of Byron Scott and Kurt Rambis.

But look at how the numbers compare. The 1985 NBA champion Lakers averaged 126 points per game in the playoffs and shot 54 percent. This postseason's Los Angeles squad has averaged just under 90 points and shot 45 percent.

Yes, defenses may be more sophisticated now--teams can play zone. The Lakers of old benefited from really deep benches, but is that not true today? And those past squads didn't play in an era of high school starters, yearly free-agent shuffling and thinning talent.

How well would today's San Antonio Spurs compare to the Boston Celtics of the early '80s? How do the New Jersey Nets or Sacramento Kings compare with the early '80s Philadelphia 76ers or late '80s Pistons?

Even if the numbers aren't all that disparate, who has been more fun to watch?

This is not to demean the skill level of today's players. I wouldn't be adding anything new by simply bashing the NBA--that pastime's all too popular among radio's carnival barkers and TV talking heads. It's strictly about the gradual erosion of the team dynamic.

It's easy for players to pay lip service to the concept, but most modern players only bring it up when they're not seeing the ball enough or they're trying to escape the scrutiny of a scoring slump. Teamwork has taken a tumble, and "fundamentals" have fallen on deaf ears. One-man highlight reels get the endorsements and "SportsCenter" teases.

The game changes, and maybe competing with yesteryear is a battle that rarely, if ever, can be won. It's hard to beat the ghosts of glory past.

But I miss it.

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MONDAY'S QUESTION:

Who is the most underrated athlete in Chicago and why?

BEST ANSWER:

"I would have to say Anthony Thomas. For some reason, coaches and fans alike seem to be judging him strictly on his career under John Shoop and are giving little heed to his career at Michigan. ... If Lovie Smith really gives A-Train a legitimate chance, I think he'll show everyone in this city he can be a big-time running back."